Youth Hunt will usher in a new turkey season

This Saturday, at around quarter to six in the morning, the Statewide Youth Turkey Hunt kicks off the Wisconsin Spring Turkey Season. Any youth under the age of 16 may hunt turkeys when accompanied by an adult. If they have not passed a hunters ed class yet, they may hunt under the state’s hunter mentor law. You can find all the rules for that on the DNR webpage.

The youth hunter only needs a turkey tag for any one of the six time periods for the turkey zone they are hunting in. They must hunt in the zone the tag was purchased for. If you didn’t apply for a tag for them last fall, a tag can be purchased from the leftover tags.

They can be purchased online or at license retailers. There will be a tag available since any time period works and leftover tags rarely sell out for all periods. All the normal regulations apply, like hunting hours, shot size, and only male or bearded turkeys in the spring.

The youth hunt generally brings some tough weather conditions so hopefully they will get some decent weather this year. The youth season is only two days but I’m sure you can all remember that after two days of hard hunting a young hunter needs a little rest. And now I find that the older hunters can use some rest as well. If they don’t see success in the youth season, they can still hunt the regular season their tag is valid for.

A lot of hunters don’t like the later seasons but I have often had very good luck when hunting them. The pressure on birds is waning. A lot more cover is present with the leaves emerging. If you get a tom to gobble, he is usually alone and you can kill that bird. The weather is mild — I mean t-shirt mild somedays — so fewer layers are needed.

You have several weeks to pattern birds and look for sign. Getting permission on land that is tied up in earlier time periods is much easier. The hunting can be tough, but it can be super easy as well. My first five turkeys were killed in the last time period.

Hopefully, we as hunters will fare better than last year. So far this spring I have seen more turkeys by accident than I saw all last year. I’ll take that as a good omen.

The first time period of the regular season starts on April 21, early in the morning. Time periods run Wednesday through Tuesday. There are six time periods running consecutively. The last day of the spring turkey season is June 1 at sunset. I know a couple hunters who usually hunt five of the six periods, especially if they are willing to travel a bit to hunt. “I like to hunt different parts of the state,” Brett told me. “The southwest is the best hunting for me, I love the landscape. But the area north of Portage, around Mauston, and south and west of Eau Claire all have great hunting, and landowners are willing to allow access if no one else is hunting on their land. I hunt around home in the later periods.”

Turkey hunting has some unique safety precautions — like not wearing anything red, white or blue, especially around your head. And, when you pick a spot, sit against a tree as wide as your shoulders. Never wave at an approaching hunter; use your voice to alert them to your presence.

I’ll never understand why someone hunting male turkeys stalks in on someone using a hen yelp and shoots the hunter. One doesn’t simply walk up on turkeys. I’ve heard the argument that maybe there is a tom with the hen, but the hunter is responsible for their target and what is beyond, in front, and alongside of it.

They are also responsible for clearly identifying the game they shoot at. Shooting at a decoy and hitting the hunter doesn’t meet either the safety rules or the law. And, as reaping turkeys is becoming more popular, I’m willing to bet someone is going to try and reap in on someone’s decoy at some point, if it hasn’t already happened somewhere.

Let’s have a great turkey season. More important than that, let’s just have a fun turkey season, and most important, let’s have a safe turkey season.

Good luck and please remember that “Safe Hunting is No Accident!”

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CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN